Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 17,662, settled in 1882. A regional job hub with 18,303 jobs.
Trash day: look up yoursLaurel earns a D−, ranked 83rd of 99 in Mississippi, mostly because of safety and health. It reports more crime per resident than 97% of U.S. towns, including 130 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. Residents are less healthy than 93% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. It also has a long history, with 8 places on the National Register. 46% of working residents work locally in Laurel, against 19% in Mississippi’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Only 1 of the 101 Mississippi towns we compare have a higher July high than Laurel. The biggest park or preserve is Laurel Sportsplex, at 91 acres.
Where Laurel beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Leontyne PriceWhere Laurel’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Mississippi), ordered by how far Laurel is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,193 in 1900, a peak of 27,889 in 1960, 17,161 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1900 and 2 maps from 1964 on.
8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Laurel, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Laurel.
Laurel draws workers from Hattiesburg and beyond and looks healthier within Mississippi than nationally, but it reports violent crime at 3 times the Mississippi rate.
Violent crime runs at 7.5 per 1,000 residents, 3 times the Mississippi rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D−. Property crime runs at 29.1 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Mississippi rate, most of it theft.
The violent crime rate in Laurel is 7.5 per 1,000 residents. Laurel reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 97% report less. The property crime rate in Laurel is 29.1 per 1,000 residents.
| Laurel | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 7.5 per 1,000 residents | 2.2 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 29.1 per 1,000 residents | 16.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Laurel School District. Three of its 11 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nora Davis ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades 2–4 | Grades 2–4 | 519 | – |
| Laurel High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 732 | D |
| Laurel Magnet School Of The ArtsTop results in townGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 323 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MS on state tests and graduation
5.6 miles of trail in 9 parks and preserves.
| Laurel | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.7% | 2.9% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Gardiner Park | 0.5 mi | 10 |
| 2. Laurel Sportsplex | — | 91 |
| 3. Mason Memorial Park | — | 26 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
18,303 jobs are based in Laurel, 3 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 16.4 minutes, against 25.6 across Mississippi.
Laurel’s average trip to work is 16 minutes. The top destinations are Hattiesburg (8%), Ellisville (3%) and Jackson (2%). 23% of Laurel residents live below the poverty line.
| Laurel | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 23% | 21% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $48,000 | $50,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 5.6% | 5.3% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Within Mississippi it is less healthy than 69% of the 101 graded towns: much of Mississippi scores lower on these measures.
20% of adults have diabetes in Laurel. Laurel beats the Mississippi average on 1 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 14. 51% of adults have high blood pressure in Laurel.
| Laurel | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 12% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 51% | 45% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 36% | 25% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 24% | 14% |
| What stands out | Laurel | MS |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 10.8% | 13.6% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 17.3% | 11.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Values fell 3.5% in the past year while the Mississippi typical home rose 2.2%. The typical value, about $137K, is 9% below its March 2025 peak.
The typical Laurel home is worth about $137,000, 29% below the Mississippi typical home.
| Laurel | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 63% | 62% | 73% |
| Median rent | $909 a month | $900 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Laurel has mild winters and hot summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 92°, January nights drop to 36° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
108 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 14 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 62% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 108 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Laurel.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Mississippi average. 22% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 25% across Mississippi.
| Laurel | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 26% | 24% | 22% |
| Median age | 35.1 years | 37 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 14% | 17% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 22% | 25% | 29% |
54% women, 46% men
About 86 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.4 points). Across Mississippi, 51.5% of residents are women. Median age: women 35.8, men 33.6.
| Laurel | MS | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14.7% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.4% | 11.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 10.9% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.7% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.2% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.2% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.8% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.3% | 10.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.9% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 12.9% | 12.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 34.5% | 29.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.7% | 21.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.1% | 10.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 13.4% | 15.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.4% | 9.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
2 within 15 miles of the center of Laurel
About 3 of every 100 Laurel residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Mississippi.
8 places in Laurel on the National Register of Historic Places.
36 notable people were born in Laurel.
City in Mississippi, United States
Laurel is a city in and the second county seat of Jones County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 17,161. Laurel is northeast of Ellisville, the first county seat, which contains the first county courthouse. It has the second county courthouse, as Jones County has two judicial districts. Laurel is the headquarters of the Jones County Sheriff's Department, which has jurisdiction in the county. Laurel is the principal city of a micropolitan statistical area named for it. Its major employers include Howard Industries, Sanderson Farms, Masonite International, Family Health Center, Howse Implement, Thermo-Kool, and South Central Regional Medical Cent…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Laurel.
| Town | MS rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laurel | #83 | D− | B− | D− | B | D |
| Ellisville | #49 | C− | B− | B− | B+ | D |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Laurel grades D− overall, better than 4% of U.S. towns and #83 of 99 in Mississippi. It grades D for health, D− for safety and B for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 2.7 years of the area's median household income ($51,236 across the Laurel, MS area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
36 notable people were born here, including Leontyne Price and Ray Walston.
